How regular domains are charged and billed if they are set to auto-renew
If a registration renewal price increases after you receive a renewal notice, DreamHost will honor the quoted rate in the notice.
31 days prior to expiration date:
- The credit card is charged.
- If the charge is successful, the account is billed for the renewal.
- If the charge is unsuccessful, the domain’s renewal status changes to ‘ASK’. An email is sent to the account owner notifying them that an attempt to charge the credit card was made and was unsuccessful, along with instructions on how to manually renew/turn back on auto renew.
| Date of purchase | Charge card | Bill account | Renewal date | Expiration date | New annual term begins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1, 2017 | Nov 30, 2017 | Nov 30, 2017 | Nov 30, 2017 | Dec 31, 2017 | Jan 1, 2018 |
A renewal receipt is emailed to the account owner that shows the date of charge and the date of renewal.
How 'Auto-Renew Only' domains are charged and billed
What are 'Auto-Renew Only' domains?
Certain country-code and specialty top-level domains (TLDs) do not renew the same way as a .COM or other generic TLDs. These are referred to as 'Auto-Renew Only' domains.
These domains are specific domains determined by the registry. They do not have an "Add Years" button on the Manage Registrations page, and cannot be renewed by manually placing a renewal order.
List of 'Auto-Renew Only' domains (TLDs) at DreamHost
The following domains (TLDs) are 'Auto-Renew Only'. DreamHost strongly recommends that the auto-renew setting remain enabled on these domain names, unless the registrant chooses to discontinue renewing them:
- .AT
- .DE
- .JP
How does DreamHost charge and bill my 'Auto-Renew Only' domain?
31 days prior to expiration date:
- The credit card is charged.
- If the charge is successful, the account is billed for the renewal.
- If the charge is unsuccessful, the domain’s renewal status changes to ‘ASK’. An email is sent to the account owner notifying them that an attempt to charge the credit card was made and was unsuccessful, along with instructions on how to manually renew/turn back on auto renew.
On the expiration date:
- 'Auto-Renew Only' domain renews:
| Date of purchase | Charge card | Bill account | Renewal date | Expiration date | New annual term begins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1, 2017 | Nov 30, 2017 | Nov 30, 2017 | Dec 31, 2017 | Dec 31, 2017 | Jan 1, 2018 |
Within the 31-day period between when it is charged, billed, and expires, you are not able to change the status of 'auto-renew' in the panel. This is a safeguard that ensures the domain does indeed renew, since you’ve already paid for the renewal. All of these details are reflected in the receipt that is emailed to you when the charge occurs.
Are domain registration renewals refundable?
No. Once a domain is auto-renewed, or it is manually renewed, your credit card is charged and the domain is renewed for 1 more year.
At this point the domain registry updates their information to show you are the owner for an additional year. Since there's no way to reverse the renewal from the registry, a refund is not possible.
